What do “Paleolithic,” “Neolithic,” and “Bronze Age” mean on my timeline?

They’re broad prehistoric time bands we use to place when your lineage’s branches formed and where it was found: roughly, Paleolithic is older than ~12,000 years ago, Neolithic ~5,300–12,000, Bronze Age ~3,200–5,300, and Iron Age and later within the last ~3,200 years. They give a sense of the deep-time era each step of your paternal line belongs to — not dates for your recent family.